GSW ‘clinch’ NBA best record again

Cavs move back into East lead

The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) arranged the annual friendly Kabbadi match between India and Pakistan. Pictured are the teams with officials prior to the match. — PHOENIX, April 6, (AP): Stephen Curry scored 42 points as the Golden State Warriors held off the Phoenix Suns 120-111 for their season-high 13th straight win, clinching the best record in the NBA for the third straight season.

Curry scored 23 in the first quarter when the Warriors blew open a 41-18 lead, but the Suns rallied with a 34-17 second quarter and made a game of it from there. With Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala resting and Kevin Durant one game away from returning from injury, the Warriors still won.

Meanwhile, Devin Booker scored 21, Tyler Ulis 20 and Jared Dudley matched his season high with 19 for the Suns, who tied a franchise record with their 13th straight loss. Alan Williams scored 16 and grabbed a career-best 17 rebounds for Phoenix.

Golden State became the first team have the NBA’s best record for three consecutive seasons since the Boston Celtics did it in 1983-84, ‘84-’85 and ‘85-’86. The Warriors, Boston multiple times and Philadelphia are the only franchises in NBA history to achieve that feat. The Warriors also are the first team to win at least 65 games in three straight seasons. Cavaliers 114,

Celtics 91 In Boston, LeBron James had 36 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers ran past the Boston Celtics to move back into first place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

The teams had identical records entering their final regular-season matchup, but Cleveland (51-27) now has a onegame lead over Boston (50-28) with only four games to play. Cleveland also holds the tiebreaker with the Celtics for

Curry

the top seed, if needed.

Kyrie Irving added 19 points and five assists. The Cavaliers played without starting center Tristan Thompson, who was out with a sprained right thumb. But they performed without him, surging at the start of the second quarter and taking as much as a 29-point lead in the third. They also outrebounded Boston 51-38.

Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 26 points.

Thunder 103, Grizzlies 100 In Memphis, Tennessee, Russell Westbrook fell a rebound short of an historic triple-double but scored 45 points, including a late 3-pointer that helped seal Oklahoma City’s victory over Memphis.

Westbrook’s 3-pointer his eighth in the game with 14 seconds left and two free throws in the final second gave the Thunder their second win in a row. Oklahoma City solidified its hold on the Western Conference’s sixth seed, holding a 3-1/2-game lead over the Grizzlies.

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Charlotte Hornets’ Nicolas Batum (5) drives to the basket as Miami Heat’s James Johnson (16) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, North Carolina on April 5. The

Heat won 112-99. (AP)